ON THE RUN: Brandon Jacobs and the Giants will look to run wild on the Redskins during tonight's important NFC East battle.Joseph E. Amaturo

The drumbeat seems to be keeping the right tempo for the Giants but somewhere along the line they lose the rhythm. They practice well, meet well, prepare well then often play not-so-well, which is why they are in the predicament they are in heading into tonight’s battle with the Redskins at FedEx Field.

The signs during the week indicate they are ready, but once the Giants step on the field all bets are off.

“I really like the way this team prepared the last two weeks and I really feel like in the last two games this team has really fought and played with a lot of passion,” center Shaun O’Hara said. “That’s the way you have to play this game. We’re 1-1 in those last two games, but I thought we really played with a lot of heart and a lot of passion. If we play that way in these last three weeks we’ve got a shot.”

The shot got much more difficult when the Cowboys, on Sat urday night, upset the previously-unbeaten Saints, a game the Giants hoped and expected Dallas to lose. That puts immense pressure on the Giants to get back on the winning track, as at 7-6 they are 1½-games behind the Cowboys (9-5) and need to finish even in the standings with Dallas to gain the tie-breaker edge and the final NFC wild-card playoff spot.

Here’s the unsavory deal: If the Giants lose tonight, they will be eliminated from playoff contention if the Cowboys win one of their remaining two games — at Washington or home vs. the Eagles. Not a pretty picture.

A look inside the game:

BEST BATTLE

Redskins linebacker London Fletcher vs. Giants running back Brandon Jacobs. This, of course, is not a one-on-one confrontation, but these two will knock heads early and often. Fletcher is undersized at 5-foot-10 and 245 pounds, but is plenty big as far as heart and determination (148 consecutive starts) and once again is leading the run-defense charge with 144 tackles. Jacobs is oversized at 6-foot-4 and 264 pounds but doesn’t always run with enough power, although he has looked strong lately.

TALE OF TWO DEFENSES

It is rare when you get to see the best and worst on the same field, but here you have it. The Redskins own the top-rated red- zone defense in the league, allowing only nine touchdowns in 31 possessions (29 percent). The Gi ants are dead last, giving up a ri diculous 33 touchdowns in 48 red-zone possessions (68.8 per cent).

CENTURY MAN

Wide receiver Steve Smith is averaging 6½ catches per game. With a franchise-record 85 receptions already this season, he is on pace to reach 100, which he admits is a rarified goal he dared to consider attaining in his first year as a starter.

“That’s always a dream but you never think it’s going to be a reality until it is,” Smith said. “I said before the season I want to have one of the greatest Giants seasons ever. I didn’t really realize it could come true.”

NOT-SO-GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Coach Tom Coughlin last week was quick to point out that the defense did not allow all 45 points to the Eagles, that actually it was 31 points. And now first-year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan is saying at least his unit wasn’t blown off the ball the past two weeks.

Are we lowering the bar, or what?

“In the grand scheme of it, just looking at last week’s game, they ‘big-played’ us, that’s what happened,” Sheridan said. “They did not methodically pound the ball down our throat running the ball. They had six 20-plus (yard) passes, which is a shame to say, but it wasn’t so much that I thought we had a huge drop off in the physical play.”

TUCK TIME

Redskins right tackle Stephon Heyer didn’t practice last week because of a knee injury and won’t play, forcing Will Robinson into his first NFL start. Robinson might end up being a great player and a fixture on the Washington offensive line, but for now he’s a first-year player just signed off the practice squad whose last game action was in 2007 as a senior at San Diego State. Tuck has battled a partially torn labrum in his shoulder since the second game of the season, has only 4½ sacks and none in the past three games. Is this the night for a breakout?